Thursday, December 16, 2010

Christmas Trees


Well I tried to set up Special K’s Christmas tree - which had been sitting untouched in the basement for 3 years - but it was just too big and awkward, so instead I put it on Kijiji! Haha! But first I scavenged three loose branches, wrapped the ends in a dish cloth and stuffed it in a glass: and voila, three mini-christmas trees are born. We have the red & gold tree, Kirt’s Christmas past tree (decorated with ornaments made for him over the years by his aunt), and the burned out lightbulb tree.
The light bulb decorations turned out pretty good actually and it only cost me a can of spray paint. You have to use your imagination a little bit, but picture a full size tree full of gold painted sparkly light bulbs with gold ribbon and twinkly lights. Next year, when I have more than 6 light bulbs I am going to try that! 



Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Sunset

Here's a lovely little photo of the sunset taken from the upstairs window just moments ago...AT 3:40 IN THE AFTERNOON!
Santa, you better be bringing vitamin D supplements.


Friday, December 3, 2010

Snowy day inside

I spent the morning reading about Nellie McClung and her plight for woman’s suffrage, equality and prohibition…and then I spent the afternoon in the kitchen baking cookies and drinking from a box of wine…something just feels wrong here.

What is also wrong is the cookie. The Cowboy Cookie recipe I once labeled “awesome” was not all I remembered it to be, so I had to make three variations before I had a cookie I’m not embarrassed to bring to the cookie exchange.

Here’s the recipe to save yourself some trouble should you want to make a decent Christmassy oatmeal cookie.

1cup margarine
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3 cups rolled outs
1 cup red and green m&m’s

Cream margarine and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Mix remaining ingredients in seperate bowl then combine with the sugar mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto cookie sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes at 350.

And if you want to make this a heartier, healthier, barley-farmer friendlier cookie…use barley flour and/or barley flakes instead of boring old all-purpose flour and rolled oats.